Medical providers in Morehouse Parish are catching a wave of the future that better serves their patients with filling prescriptions.

Electronic prescribing, or e-prescribing allows a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant to electronically transmit a prescription or renewal authorization to a pharmacy through computer-based electronic transmission.
Substituting paper, it enables the prescriber to send error-free, accurate and understandable prescriptions.

Fred’s Pharmacy in Bastrop has been filling prescriptions via e-prescribing for the past two years. Pharmacy manager Paula Manning said the new method is “very convenient” for them.

“There are less mistakes,” she said. “You can see exactly what the prescription says because it’s right there on the screen.”

Manning said the new electronic method is also more convenient for their customers.

“We have the opportunity to get it filled before the patient comes in to pick it up,” she said. “Usually, the patient comes in with a hand written prescription, which they have to drop off and wait on. This prevents that because it’s coming straight from the doctor’s office.”

Sterlington Rehabilitation Hospital and Rural Health Clinics is among the local medical providers that are using the new method of prescribing medications. The three clinics under the umbrella of SRH are Bastrop, Sterlington and Mer Rouge.

Family Nurse Practitioner for Bastrop Rural Health, Clinic Cameron Lutrick has been using the e-prescribing method at the clinic since the first of March.

“In the beginning, as with any new technology, I was hesitant. But now I love it,” Lutrick said.

Some of the benefits of e-scribing is that it promotes appropriate drug usage, provides information to providers and dispenses about formulary-based drug coverage, includes alternative and co-pay information and speeds up the process of renewing information.

“It’s a program that can watch for medication interactions,” Lutrick said. “It also lets us know what medication is best for the patient’s insurance coverage.”

Manning said some of the medical providers in Morehouse Parish who are using e-prescribing include Dr. Clint Netherland, Dr. Jack Noble, Dr. John Coats and all the local clinics.

“Some of the older doctors aren’t doing it yet,” she said. “It’s just a matter of getting the software and learning how to use it.”

Lutrick said she loves the quick and convenient method of e-prescribing.

“It’s so much easier now to be able to pull up everything,” she said. “It’s also nice to tell a patient at the end of a visit, ‘Your prescription is sent. It’s at the pharmacy waiting on you.’”